This disclosure relates to thermoplastic articles, and in particular to transparent articles based on polycarbonate compositions that can withstand demanding processing conditions and perform in high-temperature environments.
Polycarbonates can be used in the manufacture of articles and components for a wide range of applications, from automotive parts to electronic appliances. Because of their beneficial properties such as transparency and impact resistance, polycarbonates have been widely used in applications such as instrument screens, helmet face shields, eyeglass and safety glass lenses, and illumination lenses such as light fixtures, flashlight and lantern lenses, and motor vehicle headlight lenses and covers. In some applications including but not limited to motor vehicle headlight lenses and covers, other performance properties may also be desirable such as transparency, low color, ability to withstand elevated temperatures without deformation or discoloration, and/or ability to maintain these properties even when molded under adverse conditions. Although many polycarbonate compositions can provide some of the aforementioned properties, many known compositions have not been able to achieve desired levels in multiple performance categories. There accordingly remains a need in the art for plastic articles that provide beneficial combinations of properties such as high transparency, and heat deformation resistance, and impact strength for molding under adverse conditions and performance in demanding environments.